Former Milberg Weiss partner William Lerach pleaded guilty to conspiracy Monday for his part in the firm's illegal kickback scheme. Lerach reached an agreement with prosecutors last month to plead guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and will forfeit $7.75 million to the government, pay a $250,000 fine, and serve one to two years in [...]

An Italian appeals court on Monday affirmed the conviction of Egyptian Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed for belonging to an international terrorist network, but reduced his sentence from ten years to eight. Ahmed was convicted on charges separate from those brought against him for his role in the 2004 Madrid train bombings . Prosecutors had alleged [...]

The government of Peru plans to file a complaint against Chile with the International Court of Justice seeking resolution of the countries' maritime boundary dispute in November or December, el Comercio reported Monday. While Peruvian Minister of External Relations Jose Antonia Garcia Belaunde informed his Chilean counterpart of the government's decision during the recent session [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prison , 06-9130, to determine whether a Federal Tort Claims Act exception barring claims for detained property against "law enforcement officers" includes federal prison officials who seized a Muslim prisoner's Korans and prayer rug, or whether it only applies to officials [...]

A group of senior lawyers from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon urging the promotion of the current ICTY deputy prosecutor, American David Tolbert , to ICTY chief prosecutor when Carla Del Ponte steps down from the position at the end of [...]

Giovanni Di Stefano disputes recent comments by Iraqi prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon suggesting that the Iraqi High Tribunal has overriding authority to execute al-Majid and others for war crimes regardless of any objection from Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in a dispute over the punitive damages to be paid by Exxon Mobil for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill . Exxon Mobil and its shipping subsidiary have been ordered to pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages for the spill of 11 million gallons of crude oil in [...]

US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Sunday that unless US Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey clarifies that he believes waterboarding is torture, Graham will consider opposing Mukasey's nomination. Speaking on CBS News' Face The Nation , Graham said that if Mukasey does not express opposition to the use of waterboarding, it will raise serious doubts [...]

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed on Monday denied accusations of corruption during questioning by officials from the country's anti-corruption commission , according to Hasina's lawyer. Hasina was questioned at the converted prison where she has been held since her July arrest on charges that she allegedly extorted approximately $1.16 million from two businessmen. [...]

H. Harry Roque Jr. : "Due to the inherent problems in defining terrorism, crimes ordinarily punished by the penal laws are now sought to be punished under the PHSA with a corresponding increased penalty with no clear test or measure when the penal laws or the PHSA applies. Also, the powers granted to the courts [...]